Relocating for afordability etc..

[tinapbeana]

Re: Relocating for afordability etc..

I think Tennessee has no state income tax.

according to the TN department of revenue "The individual income tax is imposed only on individuals and other entities receiving interest from bonds and notes and dividends from stock." they also offer a property tax relief program for those over 65 and a type of expanded Medicaid called TennCare.

both sets of my grandparents live in TN & GF has a heart condition, this is stuff my family talks about a lot.

[MonkeyMama]

Re: Relocating for afordability etc..

I am considering relocating considering cost of living and the ability to include frugality and to simplify things more. NYC is expensive , although we do well , I'd like a more positive financial change...anyone out there moved for the sake of frugality, cost of living or what ever...

Thanks.

Yes - and I say GO FOR IT!!!!

We pretty much moved because we could not afford to raise kids the way we wanted to (be home with them) AND afford a house. Maybe if we waited 20 years, but I Wanted to have kids when I Was 30, not 50 - LOL.

Anyway, we moved from San Francisco area to 2 hours out, and it was the best thing we ever did. At the time I was VERY bitter we had to move, that we could not afford to stay in the city where we had grown up. But it quickly passed once we traded in our tiny condo for a 5-bedroom home and a smaller mortgage. All the comparisons said to expect a 10% pay cut, and I even remember my boss in my interview complaining about us Bay area folk asking for unrealstic pay. In the end my pay stayed the same and I got better benefits too boot. IF I had known that I Would have moved sooner - LOL. Anyway, we put our condo up right before 9/11 and lost 100k in equity so we moved here having a $200k mortgage instead of a $100k mortgage like we planned. BUT in the end we felt liek we were financially ready for kids 3-4 years earlier than we had originally planned and we just love the simpler lifestyle out here. At the same time we are still close enough to all of our family and friends, and close enough to enjoy the big city.

For that reason I would recommend NJ or NY, just not to get too far from your roots. Test it out and see if it works well for you. Depends how attache dyou are to NYC. ?? I think the further out you move the more culture shock you may find - like in Arizona. Definitely do as much research as you can. Everyone says Oregon is great because of no sales or income tax, BUT the property taxes are insane. You need to find out as much as you can about places you would liek to move...

We have talked about cashing out our house and going to oregon. There was a time we could have walked away with 400k cash easily, but we are hesitant to leave our family, I absolutely love my job, etc. The time is not right now, but something we are considering before we get too settled here. Part of me hesitiates because I don't want to spend my whole life moving somewhere cheaper - LOL. Oregon is hot right now with all of the Californians moving up and I Wouldn't be surprised if we made that move, we would want to move again down the road, somewhere even cheaper.

We settled here because I knew many friends who made the move, and the same about ORegon, and plus I knew the cities well, visited a lot in the past, etc. I know many friends who made the move and told us about what they learned in the process - they didn't know such and such would be so expensive here or there. So I say talk to as many people as you can. Being in NYC I am sure you know plenty of people who have fled. When we moved here we knew quite a few people that had already fled and if we decide to move to ORegon we have a ready made community of friends up there. Makes the decision easier.

Good Luck!!!

[Frugal Father (tm)]

Re: Relocating for afordability etc..

I am definvately not married to NYC at all. I personally want to move just because I don't really care for it anymore. Yeasr of frugalness and simplifying life brought me to another idea of living and well as the important financial aspects. Like towns, small cities but also like suburbs, we are water poeple..views and such, like free things to do, love arts and culture and of course a lower cost of living , don;t care if its a house, rental communities or condo.

[tinapbeana]

Re: Relocating for afordability etc..

all this talk about moving for frugality has made me *really* appreciate where i live.

[wai98007]

Re: Relocating for afordability etc..

You can always try moving to Wyoming. My wife and I were going to go abroad and teach English for a year (we both love to travel and are both bilingual). At the last minute our plans fell through. Without a clear backup plan (I was preparing to go to grad school, but missed the deadlines because of our plans to go abroad) I took a job here in Wyoming as a way to try something new. The cost of living is very very low where we live. There are more expensive parts of the state (Jackson being one of them). Even though the cost of living is low, there are tradeoffs. There is pleanty of outdoors to enjoy, but little access to big city amenities. It is definitely a different culture, but small town living is very quaint. It has been a different sort of adventure for us. We really feel like we have an impact for good in our community.

[MonkeyMama]

Re: Relocating for afordability etc..

I would recommend Portland area. Portland has been voted #1 city in many areas in recent years. Very cultured, close enough to the mountains and the shore. I know quite a few people who live in Vancouver, WA and commute to Portland. WA has some very affordable communities just minuted from the big city. Oregon is pretty tax free except property taxes like I said are high. So I know many people who live in Washington but work and shop in ORegon - tax-free.

Downside, everyone and their brother is moving there? LOL. I have my eye on it, it is a lot like San Francisco - feels good enough as home to me.

You may not be tied to NYC, but do you think you would have culture shock in a small town? I love the big city too much, that is why we stay. My sister lives in Raleigh area - it is very cheap and beautiful, etc., but I can not stand it there in the least. I also have family in kansas - talk about cheap. Those are my roots but the fact I could retire there today does not draw me in the least. I think I will stay near the coast...

But seriously moving outside of the big city just 2 hours was a big enough culture shock, probably why I Am scared to leave the state. If you start out renting though sounds good. You can test the waters before you really commit somewhere.

[Duchesse]

Re: Relocating for afordability etc..

: I also live in NYC. I have been thinking about a move like this for years. I am waiting for my last child (14yo) to fly.

I want a warm climate. I want to be in the suburbs but near a city where I can take in sites, sounds, music, ballet, symphony, theatre, opera, movies, museums, in a nutshell culture. I should be able to entertain my visitors.

I also like to party sometimes, none of that wild stuff but, I love to dance.

.

[Fern]

Re: Relocating for afordability etc..

CT is pretty, but if you're moving for affordability issues, you won't see much of a savings moving here from Staten Island, certainly not in terms of real estate values.

[Frugal Father (tm)]

Re: Relocating for afordability etc..

I did alot of reaserching on City-data.com, sometimes the grass isn't greener for some. Areas that meet certain requirements had more crime, if less crime maybe more pollution etc,etc...Guess we'll stay put for a while plus we love the cultural opportunities in our area. Thanks for your opinions.

[Frugal Father (tm)]

Maybe not...still considering a move

got a diagnosis I am not happy with medically in addition to current medical conditions
and of course cost of living and a purposeful life...still might want to relocate, inexpensive area, nice people, chances to have solo pursuits, nice climate, schools ( tween going on teen) etc...NYC/Staten ISland is costing alot more than just money...any advise....

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'd move in a heartbeat!

[scfr]

got a diagnosis I am not happy with medically in addition to current medical conditions
and of course cost of living and a purposeful life...still might want to relocate, inexpensive area, nice people, chances to have solo pursuits, nice climate, schools ( tween going on teen) etc...NYC/Staten ISland is costing alot more than just money...any advise....

We relocated from the Seattle area to the Austin area in October, in order to have a substantially lower cost of living while maintaining a good quality of life. We've been very happy with the decision. I think Austin's great. Very nice people, nice climate if you like heat, good schools (varies by district of course, as it does anywhere), etc.

If you could tell us what your ideal place would be like, perhaps folks could throw out some suggestions?

[Gruntina]

I am all for relocating. I used to live in Montana and moved to Silicon Valley. The HCOL is a shock factor and it got me stuck here for awhile before I can move. I feel I lost a lot of choices and opportunity while trying to pay for everything in CA.

However I do not want to be a downer but I can imagine your wife is not going to find a nice paying job in her field as I used to work in that area. It’s just a couple steps up from minimum wage in most places.

[Frugal Father (tm)]

Thats a problem as well

Do to my illnesses my wife is the bread winner, I sell paintings as such, have done other per diem things but shes the bread winner and her field -
working with developmentally disabled adults pays the most most in NYC..
I have researched areas and get minimal amounts of info regarding her
field and offers, lets say other companies in NYC would get excited if she looking to change companies, but in others states they react ho hum even with all her experience, I am assuming its the fact they assume they can;t match or offer anything. But still NYC is sapping things in various catergories.

THX for the replies

[ThriftoRama]

We moved from a high cost city to a low cost city and it has dramatically changed our lives for the better. It was like getting a 30 percent pay raise. We were also able to buy our house outright (which never would have happened in our old city...), pay less for insurance, and earn the same or more at our jobs. It's been life changing. I never would have guessed that our quality of life (no money stress, etc.) would have improved so much.

It's put us on a much better financial footing and is allowing us to do things we couldn't afford to do before-- sock away more for retirement, travel more, live debt-free etc.